40.40° N · 7.53° W
The highest mountain range on mainland Portugal, with the Torre at 1,993 m, the glacial valley of the Zêzere and Manteigas as a base. Less than three hours from Salamanca.
Part of The Central System
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
13 km of U-shaped valley, one of the largest glacial valleys in Europe, below the Cântaros. By car or on foot along the bottom. Road · 2–4 h
A birch meadow at about 1,500 m at the foot of Cântaro Magro, where the Zêzere begins to take shape. Walk · 1 h · Everyone
The highest point of mainland Portugal, with a road all the way up; on a clear day, from Gredos to the coast. Viewpoint · 1 h · Everyone
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From May to October, with the high roads open and the trails dry; October brings the colours of the valley. In winter it snows on the peaks and the Torre fills with people on snowy weekends.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
From Salamanca it is about 215 km via Vilar Formoso and the A25. Once up there, the car is everything: the Zêzere valley, Covão d'Ametade, Torre and Poço do Inferno are linked by mountain roads. In winter, carry chains.
The Estrela has some of the best-kept mountain hotels in Portugal: one of cork and birch at Penhas Douradas, the former 1940 pousada above Manteigas, now five-star, and the Souto Moura pousada in a former sanatorium. All three with a spa.
Manteigas is the base for walking: from the village and Penhas Douradas the municipal trails lead to the Zêzere glacial valley, Covão d'Ametade and the Poço do Inferno. Ask for the maps at the tourist office and check the forecast: up high the weather changes fast.
From almost all of Spain the Estrela is a destination for the car, but if you fly, Lisbon and Porto have direct flights from the big Spanish cities; from both it is about three hours by car to Manteigas. Without a car, the CP Intercidades runs from Lisbon to Covilhã and Guarda.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
The Estrela with the family works with little walking and lots of scenery: you reach the good places by car and walk little.
Teenagers are won over by the Estrela if there is a challenge: the highest summit in the country, a textbook glacial valley and waterfalls between granite.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A mountain hotel at Penhas Douradas, above Manteigas, made of cork and birch wood, with a spa, a signature restaurant and eight waymarked trails.
Why we like it: A pousada in the former sanatorium at Penhas da Saúde, remade by Souto Moura, with a heated indoor pool, spa, games room and children's club.
Why we like it: Family hotel with 17 rooms with balconies in Manteigas, at the foot of the Zêzere glacial valley, with an outdoor pool, a garden and a restaurant serving mountain cooking.
Why we like it: Five-star hotel in the former 1940 pousada above Manteigas, with 15 rooms and 5 suites looking onto the Zêzere glacial valley, a spa and a panoramic restaurant.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: at midday, the mountain cooking; in the evening, the signature menu beside the fireplace.
What to order: the Manteigas trout or the feijocas, the village's bean stew.
What to order: the seasonal menu, with a table by the window at sunset.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
On summer weekends the car park fills up before midday.
At the Torre it is a good deal colder than in Manteigas, and the wind blows.
Ask whether it is cured or amanteigado, creamy. The creamy one is opened from the top and eaten with a spoon.
Drive the Zêzere valley from bottom to top at the end of the day. With the low sun, the granite of the Cântaros turns golden and there are hardly any cars.
Traffic jams on the road, full car parks and little snow for so many people. If you want snow, go midweek; if you want the mountains, go in spring.
Manteigas is the best base. It lies at the bottom of the glacial valley of the Zêzere, with hot springs, stone houses and every kind of accommodation, and from there everything is less than an hour away. If you want more services, Covilhã, on the southern slope, is a university city with a train from Lisbon; Seia, on the western slope, is better if you are coming from Coimbra or Porto. Up high, at Penhas Douradas, there are houses and small hotels in the heart of the mountains, for sleeping cool in summer.
The glacial valley of the Zêzere. It is 13 km long and U-shaped, and is one of the largest glacial valleys in Europe. Drive along it on the road from Manteigas to the Torre, or walk the trails along the bottom. At the sides rise the Cântaros, Magro, Gordo and Raso, three granite masses of up to 1,928 m.
Covão d'Ametade. At the foot of the Cântaro Magro, at about 1,500 m, where the Zêzere begins to take shape, there is an old glacial lake with birches and meadows. It is one of the prettiest corners of the range, has a rest area for visitors and on summer weekends it fills up: arrive early.
The Torre. At 1,993 m, it is the highest point on mainland Portugal, and a stone tower makes up the 2,000 m. On a clear day you can see from the Sierra de Gredos, in Spain, to the coast at Figueira da Foz. You can drive all the way up: it is more a viewpoint with a car park and shops than a wild summit, but the view is worth it.
Poço do Inferno. A waterfall at 1,080 m on the Leandres stream, a tributary of the Zêzere, which falls between granite and slate. It is a few kilometres from Manteigas along a narrow mountain road.
Penhas Douradas. The range's balcony above Manteigas, with an old weather observatory and oddly shaped rocks. At sunset you see the central ranges in layers.
The whole range forms the Geopark Estrela, an association of nine municipalities that protects and explains its glacial traces, its granites and its shepherd villages. Its panels and waymarked routes, the geosites, help you read the landscape: erratic boulders, moraines and U-shaped valleys left by the ice.
Serra da Estrela cheese, made from sheep's milk and thistle rennet, is the range's signature product: it is eaten spread with a spoon when at its best, and sold in the cheese dairies and village shops. On the menus you will also see kid, chanfana, Zêzere trout and requeijão with honey.
By car, Manteigas is about 215 km from Salamanca, a little over two and a half hours, entering via Vilar Formoso and the A25 as far as Guarda. From Cáceres it is about 195 km and from Madrid about 425 km.
Without a car, CP's Intercidades train runs from Lisbon to Covilhã and Guarda; a ticket to Covilhã costs about €20 in second class. From there, to go up into the mountains you need a taxi or hire car: the range cannot be explored by public transport.
Questions
Two nights in Manteigas are enough for the Zêzere valley, Covão d'Ametade, the Torre and Poço do Inferno. With three you can do a long walk.
Yes, there is a road all the way up and a car park. In winter it is often closed by snow.
From May to October for walking, with the high roads open. In October the trees in the valley change colour.
Yes. Covão d'Ametade is flat and peaceful, Poço do Inferno is near the road and at the Torre there is snow in winter. The long routes in the valley are for children used to walking.
It usually snows on the peaks, but it varies a lot from year to year. Don't plan the trip around the snow alone without checking the forecast.
The train from Lisbon reaches Covilhã and Guarda, but for the mountains you need a taxi or a car.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/central-portugal/serra-da-estrela
